Longleaf pine forests of the southeastern United States are extraordinarily diverse and found across numerous habitats influenced by fire. Beneath the forests’ characteristic open canopy lies one of the most plant-rich ecosystems in the temperate zone, full of species found nowhere else in the world. Longleaf pine was once the largest forest ecosystem in North America, but today exists on less than five percent of its historic range.
Whitebark pine is a major component of high-elevation forests in the western United States and Canada. This slow growing, long-lived pine is important for our forests, wildlife, and communities for its role in maintaining numerous ecosystem processes and services. A candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act, whitebark pine has disappeared throughout much of its range, with continued losses expected in the coming decades. Each year, the NFF works with the U.S. Forest Service and our corporate partners to plant whitebark pine on National Forests.
Over the past two decades, several high-intensity wildfires on Gifford Pinchot’s Mount Adams have left thousands of acres without tree cover. A multi-year planting effort is helping to revive the forest and improve riparian health of the mountain’s White Salmon River upper watershed.
Restoring native shortleaf pine can improve forest resilience and reduce severe wildfire risk. Shortleaf pine has declined by 50 percent over the past few decades in the South, and thanks to our generous supporters, we are returning shortleaf pine to Ozark National Forest and beyond.
In the Great Lakes region, extreme weather events can lead to significant deforestation. Over the past few years, we have worked to reforest parts of Wisconsin's Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest impacted by strong winds, improving habitat for wildlife and visitors.
Through a unique collaboration between our Forest Service partners and a local university, hundreds of schoolchildren volunteer to replant on Coconino National Forest for wildfire recovery.
Each year, the NFF plants thousands of longleaf pine seedlings across the Southeast. It’s part of our effort to return this once widespread pine to its historic range and enhance habitat for the many wildlife species who call its forests home
We partnered with surface mine reforestation nonprofit Green Forests Work to plant 50,000 native seedlings to help restore a red spruce ecosystem in Central Appalachia.
Longleaf Pine Expansion on Mississippi National Forests
